Ammonia shortage shuts down production at DAP fertilizer plant in Ctg

Production at the state-owned Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) Fertilizer Company Limited has come to a halt due to an acute ammonia shortage, officials confirmed on Sunday (April 19).

The shutdown took around 8:00pm on Saturday (April 18) at the plant located in Rangadia area of Anwara upazila in Chattogram, according to company sources.

Officials said the factory depends on ammonia supplied from nearby Chittagong Urea Fertilizer Company Limited (CUFL) and Karnaphuli Fertilizer Company Ltd (KAFCO) to maintain production. However, both facilities stopped ammonia production on March 4 due to a gas supply crisis, disrupting the supply chain to the DAP plant.

The factory continued operations for about one and a half months using existing stock, but production was eventually suspended once reserves were exhausted.

The plant is operated under the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC), a state entity under the Ministry of Industries. It was established to meet the country’s demand for compound fertilizers containing nitrogen and phosphorus, with commercial production beginning in 2006. Each of its two production units has a capacity of 800 metric tons of fertilizer per day.

Managing Director of the DAP Fertilizer Company Limited, Mohammad Mainul Haque, said production had been sustained with stored ammonia since March 4 but had to be stopped once the stock ran out.

“Production will resume as soon as ammonia supply is restored,” he added.